


The Tarot Readings

by ChillyHollow



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: Gen, Mysticism, Tarot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23477497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChillyHollow/pseuds/ChillyHollow
Summary: The tarot can reveal the most interesting things….
Relationships: Robin Ellacott/Cormoran Strike
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32
Collections: The Cormoran Strike Fest of Firsts





	1. The First Reading

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt What If? for the Cormoran Strike Fest of Firsts 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tarot deck described here can be seen at the link below.  
> https://littleredtarot.com/product/prisma-visions-tarot/

The little tent set aside for my tarot readings had a nice view across a meadow towards a stream that was tinkling and sparkling in the sunshine.I thought there were butterflies dancing over it.Maybe they were dragonflies.Hard to tell at this distance.I even had a bottle of cold water waiting for me on the table where I am supposed to do my readings.That was a nice touch, and made me a little less annoyed about the whole thing.My old aunt is always roping me into her charity schemes.At least this fair was a fund raiser for the local animal rescue so the money paid for me to do readings would go to a good cause. I decided that since I was only supposed to do this for an hour, I could be gracious and try and pretend that the tarot was just fortune telling.I spread a silk scarf, a pretty vintage Hermes with horses I’d picked up for a song, out on the table and pulled my tarot deck from my tote bag.

I am using the Prisma Visions deck these days.The artwork is by James Eads and the cards themselves, although not quite as full of symbolism as the traditional Waite-Smith deck, really speak to me.And that is what tarot really is, the interaction of the card with the person reading the card.I took the cards out of their box, laid the box aside, and shuffled the cards over and over, concentrating in their feel.Once I felt ready, I set the cards in front of me in a stack in the middle of the table I’d covered with my scarf, waiting for my first customer, while I looked at the stream, trying to concentrate on the tinkling sound and the fluttering insects so that when the time came I could see the filaments of possibilities around the person who came to have the cards read.

The first person was a young woman, naturally.Young women are usually drawn to the tarot.I’d been young and drawn that way once.She was a pretty girl, probably nineteen or so, with blonde hair and creamy skin and pink lips but with a shadow in her eyes.A very handsome young man about her own age was with her, trying to talk her out of the reading.She frowned and asked him to leave, and he did so but reluctantly.I think he was reassured by the fact that I am so prosaic looking, which goes to show how young and unobservant he was.I smiled at the young lady and asked her what her first name was.She said she was Robin.“Robin, would you please shuffle the deck of cards in front of you until you feel they are mixed enough?Then cut the deck into four piles, laying each pile face down in front of you.”I was deliberately vague as to how to arrange the piles.Usually people put them in a straight row but not Robin.She created two rows of two stacks each, making a nice little rectangle in front of us. 

“Thank you.Do you have a question for the cards, Robin?”She nodded and told me, “I want to know about my future.”

“Then, Robin, please turn over the top card from one of the stacks and put it face up on the stack you took it from.” She turned over her first card, the one on my lower left.It gave me a little shock to see it was the Tower card, the card of chaos and destruction, the one that signifies a sudden and drastic upheaval such as divorce or death.Keeping my face calm I asked her to turn over another card.This time she chose the one on my lower right.It was the Death card, which signifies transformation and change and occasionally the letting go of old issues.I nodded encouragement at her and told her to turn over the top card on the other two stacks.She once again chose the left side card, this time revealing the hand of Justice with its sword.This card is all about truth and integrity and often about legal matters, although I cannot see how such a young woman would be involved in the law.The final card she choose was The Lovers, a card that sometimes indicates romantic attachment and sometimes means kindred spirits. 

I looked the cards over. It was interesting that all cards were Majors.Normally there is a mix of major and minor arcana cards.To me this signifies that the cards are talking about matters of great importance, especially when it comes to looking into the future.“Robin, the Tower card is about a great upheaval in one’s life.It signifies chaos and destruction. But combined with the Death card, it tells me that this upheaval in your life will lead to a great transformation.The Justice card you paired with The Lovers.Generally the justice card talks about legal matters but it is also an indication of truth and integrity. I think that because you have linked it with The Lovers, you might be looking for or judging a romantic relationship based on integrity and truth.Notice that there are three pairs of dancers on the card, all wearing masks.That indicates ambiguity to me.Perhaps you are torn between several relationships and you will use Justice to uncover the masks we all wear so you may choose between them.”

I looked up at her.Her blue-gray eyes were looking inward.What I had said had meaning to her, but she did not understand it all.I assumed that the great upheaval she knew about but not the romantic decision she needed to make in the future.I hadn’t been much impressed by her pretty boyfriend myself but he was quite good-looking.Appearance means a lot more to the young than to old cynics like me, of course.Finally she smiled a sweet smile and thanked me for my time. With one last glance at the Justice card (Justice?That was an odd choice.Most folks take a last look at the Lovers or at least the Death card.) she stood and left me alone with the tarot cards.


	2. The Second Reading

It was a while before I had another reading.It was lunch, after all.Most people would be crowded into the tea tents to get something to eat.I drank my water and shuffled my cards over and over again, trying to get that last reading out of my head.Finally I just sat and watched the little stream sparkle in the sunlight.I was so absorbed in the meadow and the creek that I didn’t notice at first I had another visitor.This time it was a man, a tall and broad man, who entered the tent and stood looking down at me.He was very different than most who look for tarot readings.I got the impression of a soldier, stern, disciplined, intelligent and a sceptic towards all things that aren’t tangible.Before I thought I asked him, “Are you sure you have the right tent?”

“Do you read the tarot?” he asked me. I nodded.“Then you are the right person.I’m here for a reading.”Well, he must have paid or Peggy wouldn’t have let him in the tent, so I nodded and asked him his name, which he gave me.

“Cormoran, would you please shuffle the deck of cards in front of you until you feel they are mixed enough?Then cut the deck into four piles, laying each pile face down in front of you.”Again I was deliberately vague as to how to arrange the piles.I was amazed to see that he also created two rows of two stacks each, making a nice little rectangle in front of us on top of my pretty scarf.Was he related to the pretty young girl?I looked into his deep set eyes and asked if he had a question for the cards.He told me he wanted an insight into the future.I wondered if he and the much younger blonde knew each other or were related, since they were asking for the same thing and arranging the cards the same way, but they didn’t resemble each other and there was no deception in his eyes.That I was sure of.Seeing no intent to do anything but ask the cards for insight, I proceeded. 

“Thank you.Cormoran, please turn over the top card from one of the stacks and put it face up on the stack you took it from.”He turned over his first card, the one on my lower right.It was the Tower card again, the card of chaos and destruction, the one that signifies sudden death.There must have been shock on my face, because he frowned at me.I got myself under control and asked him to turn over another card.He chose the one on my lower left.Somehow I was not surprised it was the Death card, with its connotation of change and renewal.I nodded and asked him to turn over the top card on the other two stacks.He first choose the left side card, this time revealing the hand of Justice holding the sword.The final card was naturally The Lovers.It was stunning.I’d never even heard of two readings that duplicated themselves.Cormoran was looking at me.I looked back, trying to put my feelings into words. 

“All the cards are Majors, which is unusual.Normally I see a mix of major and minor arcana cards.I think this signifies that the cards are talking about matters of great importance, especially when it comes to looking into the future.His slight frown when the Tower card was turned over had not escaped me.This man knew a little about tarot.

“As I think you know, the Tower card is about a great upheaval in one’s life.It signifies chaos and destruction, death, the end of something. Combined with the Death card, it tells me that this upheaval in your life will lead to a great transformation.See the cave or tunnel under the Tower?You are headed down that path without knowing where it will lead but the tunnel is bright.It is taking you somewhere good.”

“You paired Justice with Lovers, which is interesting, something I’ve only seen once before.Usually the justice card talks about legal issues, but it is also an indication of truth and integrity. You may be thinking about a relationship that you are weighing that is somehow involved with the law or perhaps you feel the other party isn’t quite truthful. The Lovers card has three pairs of dancers on the card, all wearing masks. There is ambiguity here.” 

The man looked at me.“You’ve seen Justice and Lovers together before?”

I nodded.“Yes, today in fact.I gave a reading earlier today that was identical to yours.You have a twin in the world, someone facing the same issues as you.Perhaps that person is related to you?”I really did want to know.

He shook his head.“I’m just a visitor here.I don’t know anyone in the area.”Well, that was that, assuming I believed him, and I did.His voice had the ring of sincerity.Well, the cards had told him all they could.It was going to be up to him and to the young woman what they did with this information.So I told him that I wished him well in his journey.He smiled at me then.It lit up his face and I could see how this man would be attractive to women in a way that the pretty boy companion of the young girl wouldn’t be.Well, that was that.

I didn’t have any more readings that day as Peggy soon relieved me after her lunch. I packed up my cards and my scarf and headed out to look at the fair and get something to eat myself.As I wandered around, I saw the young woman again.Her companion was off somewhere and she was just looking at the hand made jewelry.On impulse I gave her my Hermes scarf.“Wear this for protection, dear,” I told her.She was surprised but thanked me.It was silly, I know, but I hoped that the scarf might catch the eye of her twin.He was the noticing sort.I don’t know if the scarf ever brought them together but a few years later I saw him in one of the national newspapers.He was a private detective and had just caught a serial killer.The article had a photograph of him.He looked the same, only a little older, and there was a woman behind him in the photograph, half cut off by his broad shoulders.But she was wearing my scarf.Perhaps they had indeed found each other.I cut out the article and kept it in the drawer with my Prisma Visions deck, marveling at the tarot and what it reveals without our ever seeing the whole story.Perhaps it is for the best that we don’t know, but we always wish to see more than the glimpse the tarot offers, don’t we?


End file.
